Building Bridges
by CuddleMonkey05
Summary: Rayanne had been told her brother and sister died before she could remember but a letter brings her to New York where she runs into the newsies, two of which look very similar to her. Can she accept all the lies she has been told in her life? Pls RR!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I haven't written in a while so it is very cheesy. But I guess it CAN be a fun read. I gave you guys the first 2 chapters because nothing really happens in the first one. It's just an introduction to my characters I suppose. Anyways, REVIEW PLEASE!

Disclaimer: I don't own Newsies. Just Rayanne, William, and other characters not in the movie.

Building Bridges

"I wish I remembered this place." Rayanne breathed in deeply and jumped off the train, her brown shoulder length hair bouncing behind her.  
  
"You do know," She heard a voice say behind her, "That I am NOT your packhorse, don't you?" She smirked and turned around to face her best friend, William, and watched as he attempted to climb out of the train with both their bags. He set down the bags and wiped his brow with his sleeve before casting his gaze towards her.  
  
"Do you have anything to say for yourself, Ray?" He asked her seriously though she could clearly see the playfulness in his eyes. She stepped closer to him and locked her hazel eyes with his green ones, though he was nearly a foot taller than her she held her own against him.  
  
"You may not be my 'packhorse' as you so called yourself, but you, my dear, are supposed to be a gentleman. I know just as well as you do that any gentleman will carry a lady's bag for her." William's eyes widened at her reply.  
  
He quickly glanced around the train station before setting his eyes on hers once more, "Lady? I see no lady here. I just see Rooftop Ray." They both smiled at the nick name but William's quickly turned into a frown as Rayanne hit him playfully on the shoulder.  
  
He feigned a look of shock and regained his composure. "So, where to, Miss Rayanne Winter?"  
  
He picked up all the bags again as he followed Rayanne out of the train station onto the busy streets of Manhattan to jump into a taxi.  
  
Once inside Rayanne pulled out the letter and read it to herself for the millionth time, still letting the information sink in. She sighed and folded the letter placing it back in her bag. She looked up and found William looking at her oddly.  
  
"What?"  
  
William quickly shrugged, "I don't know about this. Are you sure that coming to Manhattan was a good idea?"  
  
Uncertainty crossed Rayanne's features and she looked down at her hands that were neatly rested on her lap. "I'm not sure about anything anymore." She raised her eyes to meet his, "But I am sure that I want to find out if everything in this letter is true or not."  
  
They rode the rest of the way in silence, both immersed in the sounds New York had to offer as they made their way to see someone Rayanne had never met, and never even knew was still alive.


	2. Chapter 2

They slowly came to a halt in front of a grand Victorian house adorned with plants. A small pathway surrounded by different flowers in every color imaginable led to the front door.  
  
Rayanne sat in awe of the mansion oblivious to the fact that William was holding the door open for her after he had unloaded the bags. He smiled at the wonder in her eyes and grabbed her hand to get her attention.  
  
Her terrified eyes looked at him in shock and he squeezed her hand reassuringly, "You can do it, Ray. It's now or never. I am not carrying your bags all the way back to North Carolina so you can tell me you want to come back." She let out a sigh of relief and smiled at his joke before stepping out of the carriage.  
  
Rayanne let go of his hand and held her dress off the ground a bit to keep it from getting torn when she suddenly stopped causing William who had been following her to run into her and drop the bags. "Are you alright? What's wrong?" William grabbed her shoulders and turned her around to face him. She looked... Terrified.  
  
"I changed my mind. I want..." She glanced down the street remembering the little restaurant on the corner a few blocks down, "To eat first." William looked at her quizzically. "You want.. to eat? Now?"  
  
She nodded furiously and started playing with her necklace, she played with it whenever she was nervous and both of them knew it. "Where?" He finally responded, though it came out more as a sigh than spoken words.  
  
She smiled thankfully knowing he was just doing it to please her. "There is a little restaurant there on the corner about 2 blocks from here. It looked like a lot of..." She looked deep in thought, "Less privileged people at there though. Are you okay with that?"  
  
"Whatever you want, Ray." He picked up the bags for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "But after that, we are going in there. These bags aren't getting any lighter." He smirked. She agreed and they began to make their way to the restaurant.  
  
They made small talk along the way passing numerous people. They were both fine until suddenly a boy neither of them knew appeared to be calling to Rayanne. He had curly brown hair and was followed by another young man with an eye patch over his left eye.  
  
The boys came to a halt in front of Rayanne and William with wide smiled splayed across their faces. "What are you'se wearin' dem hoity-toity clothes for, Sparks?" The one with brown hair asked her pointing to her dress.  
  
"An' whose da guy?" the boy with the eye patch asked her. When Rayanne didn't respond and just stood there baffled and two boys looked at each other before the brown headed one waved his hand in front of her face.  
  
"Ey! You awright? It's me, Mush. You'se remembah me, doncha?" He said with worry evident in his voice. Unexpectedly, William grabbed his wrist and lowered Mush's arm back to his side.  
  
"Please do not address her in such informal manner. She is Miss Winter to you." He said to Mush sternly. He then turned to the boy with the patch, "That goes for you too. I think you have Miss Winter confused with someone else." The boys looked astonished and exchanged glances.  
  
"Miss Winter 'ere shoah looks a lot like a friend o' ours, ey Blink?" Mush said eliciting a nod from Blink.  
  
"We din't mean ta hoit nobody. We'se hones'ly t'ought she was one o' da newsies." William's look softened and he turned to Rayanne who still had the same expression on her face. He elbowed her softly and she quickly regained her composure.  
  
"Can I meet her? The girl that looks like me?" Even William appeared shocked by her response but Mush and Blink smiled. "O' Coise! Follow us. We'se awl eat in Tibby's about now."  
  
The boys started to walk off and Rayanne began to follow but was stopped when William grabbed her arm, "Are you sure?" Rayanne nodded and began to follow the two as William picked up the bags and grumbled about how heavy they were.  
  
The four walked into the door of the corner restaurant Rayanne had wanted to eat in, which caused a bell to go off and attract all the attention in the place to them. Frightened, Rayanne turned around to look at William for support.  
  
"If it ain't Blink an' Mush. Wha' are you'se two doin' bringin' dem kids in 'ere?" It was a girl, that much was clear and Rayanne knew those 'kids' she was referring to were William and herself. "You'se oughtta know this ain' a place fo' da rich types." The girl continued and Rayanne could feel her presence right behind her.  
  
Rayanne became angry at the sound of these 'rich types' this girl was speaking of. She was about to confront this girl but when she turned around her breathe caught in her throat and she just stood there with her mouth hanging open. She heard William gasp and knew she wasn't just seeing things. She stood there face to face.... With herself. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'M BACK! I made a deal with... well myself, that I would updated after I got 3 reviews so AngryPrincess13, koodles4you, and BlackWiltedRose THANK YOU! It made my day... Maybe even my week. It definitely rocked my socks to know you liked it. Anywho.. There is a bit of Dutch in this chapter but I wrote it so that you can still understand what they say because they respond to one another in English and.. well.. you'll see. You will understand. I promise. And everything written in _italics _are Rayanne's thoughts... Yeah she talks to herself. So what?

**Building Bridges**  
  
Everyone in the restaurant was silent and all attention was on the two girls standing by the door. Both had the same expression on their faces, absolute shock. Slowly a figure stood from a table and made his way to the girls. He stopped next to the two and looked from one to other in awe. After a few seconds of this he stood next to the other girl and faced Rayanne.  
  
"I'se don' know who ya are, miss. But you'se looks an awful lot like me sistah 'ere." He was tall and lean with blonde hair. He stuck his hand out to Rayanne, "Da names Dutchy. My sistah, who is mute fo' da time bein', is Sparks. An' you are?"  
  
Rayanne composed herself and placed her hand in his softly. "I'm Rayanne Winters. This is William." She waved her hand behind her to indicate who she was referring to. "Are Dutchy and Sparks your real names?"  
  
Sparks stepped forward to look at her more closely. "No. Dey's our newsie names. We don' go by our real ones." Rayanne nodded and cast her curious eyes to Dutchy.  
  
"How did you get your name?" Dutchy smiled at her and motioned for her to follow him and led them to a booth. By now the newsies had averted their attention back to whatever they were doing but still whispered amongst themselves about this new girl that looked like one of their only two girl newsies.  
  
"Sparks an' I are Dutch. Our parents came down 'ere when we'se was youngah." He explained. Rayanne's eyes lit up, "Do you speak Dutch?" Sparks responded for him.  
  
"O' coise we do. Why'se you askin'?" She looked skeptical and Rayanne, still smiling turned to her. "Ik heb 5 jaar in Nederland gewoont."  
  
Dutchy looked surprised, as did Sparks though both of them smiled through their shock. "Five yeahs? I'se lived dere fo' 'bout six an' Sparks fo' four." Rayanne smiled brighter.  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"I'se 16 an' Dutch is 18." Rayanne swallowed.  
  
"I am six-."  
  
A bell rang throughout the restaurant indicating that the door had opened. Rayanne watched as a young man walked in being greeted by everyone in the restaurant. He seemed to be tall and had a cowboy hat and red bandana on. Rayanne had seen that face before, she just knew it.  
He was followed by someone significantly shorter who wore red suspenders and had a cane and slingshot with him. Both seemed to be very well known among the boys, and Sparks.

_'Where have I seen him before? I know I have. Was it in Virginia? Or maybe New Jersey when father had that conference? No, that can't be it. WHERE?'_

"Is you okay, miss?" Rayanne had been so deep in thought she hadn't even noticed that the two boys were now in front of her and Dutchy was trying to introduce them.

"Yes, I'm quite alright. I'm sorry. You are?" The boy in the cowboy hat smiled at her and brought his hand up to his chest.

"I'm Jack Kelly, and dis 'ere," He pointed to the shorter one, "Is Spot Conlon." He continued to talk but Rayanne was too shocked to hear anything else he had to say. She just sat there with her eyes glued to Jack and her mouth slightly ajar.

_'Jack Kelly... The scrawny little kid on the corner who I used to buy papers from? It can't be him... Can it?'_

**A/N again**

I'm not so sure where I want the story to go for the rest but I do have a general idea for the 'love interest/controversy' but I'm open to ideas if anyone has some they would like to see here.

I would also like to apologize if these chapters are worded oddly in these first chapters, I wrote these on a 3 hour flight to Chicago so I might have zoned out at some point or another.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I wrote this on a 20 hour drive from Florida to Texas (Hooray for being home) so there might be some funky wording again in this one. I know I kind of neglected poor William in the last chapter but he was there I assure you. He has a bigger part in this chapter. I'm still open to suggestions so let me know!

TheAngryPrincess13 - Glad you like it. I love getting the little 'Review Notifications' and so far the first ones have always been from you. Makes me smile.

kuddles4you - I want a mob of angry newsies to attack people with. Can I have one? Kind of like having a pet rock... What do you with it when there is no one to attack? Anywho, I started reading lost and found before I left for my trip so I am going to finish it now. I like it so far though.  
  
**Building Bridges  
**  
"You'se look familiar. Do I'se know ya?" William elbowed Rayanne at the exact moment that question escaped from Jack's lips.  
  
"Am I a strangeh all o' a sudden, Cowboy?" Sparks voice caught Rayanne off guard and she laughed.  
  
"Actually, we have met before." All the attention turned to her and she turned to face William. "And you've met him before too, Will."  
  
William's eyes widened in surprised and he pulled his head back slightly. "I have?" A quizzical look crossed his features. Rayanne smiled at him and nodded and turned around to face Jack and Spot once again.  
  
She pulled her long tresses back to make it appear as if it was tied in a low ponytail and spoke in a slightly higher voice.  
  
"You liar. The headline says-"Jack cut her off and they finished the sentence together, "A poison took the wrong train."  
  
"Rooftop? Rooftop Ray?" Rayanne's smile widened at the nickname and she watched as Jack cocked his head to the side and pointed his finger at her.  
  
"Ya know, ya still owe me a penny fo' dat pape." A look of shock spread across her face and she nudged William repeatedly.  
  
"Give me a nickel." William dug for a nickel in his pocket and placed it in Rayanne's awaiting hand. She stood up and grabbed Jack's hand placing the nickel inside before closing his fingers around it.  
  
"There. With interest." Jack smiled and pulled his head to the side slightly to look at William.  
  
"Thanks William." William nodded to acknowledge that he had heard Jack.  
  
After a few seconds of silence Dutchy cleared his throat only to get hit on the side of the head by Sparks.  
  
"I'se told ya not ta do dat. It ain't good fo' you'se." She spat at him but smiled when Dutchy rubber the sore spot on his head.  
  
"I'se t'ink we should intraduce ya to da fellas. Wha' do ya say?" He stood up and held his hands out, one for Rayanne and one for Sparks. Both gladly took his hand and stood up. They walked to the middle of the room where Dutchy took hold of a chair and stood on it.  
  
"'Ey fellas!" His voice boomed throughout the restaurant and everyone laid there gaze on him.  
  
"I'se got a lady 'ere I'se want ya ta meet." He jumped down from the stair and placed his arm across Rayanne's shoulders.  
  
"Dis," He motioned with his hand, "Is Rooftop. She's a frien' o' Jacky Boy." A chorus of hello's could be heard and Rayanne waved meekly.  
  
Dutchy led her to a table in the corner where a few of the guys, including Mush and Kid Blink, were seated.  
  
"Ya know Mush an' Blink. Dis is Davey, Boots, Les, an' Sarah. Davey is a walkin' mouth so ya might like talkin' to 'im. Les is 'is bruddah an' Sarah is deir sistah an' she's Jack's goil too." They exchanged greetings and Dutchy quickly pulled her to the next table.  
  
"'Ere we 'ave Bumlets, Specs, Skittery, Itey, Snitch, an' Jake." Without pause he led them to yet another table.  
  
"Snipeshooter, Racetrack," Rayanne stopped listening as she knew she would never remember all their names. She turned to look at the table she had left to see Jack, Spot, and Sparks questioning William.  
  
William appeared to be answering all their questions after a few seconds of thought and the table was soon joined by Mush and Kid Blink.  
  
Suddenly seeing a clock above the door Rayanne squeeled and ran to William. "We're late." William immediately stood up and picked up the bags as the two headed for the door Sparks grabbed Rayanne's wrist.  
  
"Why'se ya leavin' so soon?" She let go of Rayanne's wrist and crossed her arms over her chest her gaze still set on Rayanne.  
  
"I was supposed to meet someone 30 minutes ago. It's very important. I promise I will see you again." And with that Rayanne and William left the restaurant, the ringing of the bell being the only thing heard in Tibby's as they watched 'Rooftop' walk away.

**A/N again:**

My 20 hour trip turned into a 30 hour one because Lillian (My car. Yeah, I named it. I'm a n00b) decided to stop working at a gas station and we had to wait until the next morning to fix it and we were in the middle of nowheresville, Florida. I like to call it "Lillian's Revenge" since my cousin (Stupid kid) got in a car wreck in MY LILLIAN a week before and we just got her fixed but she is still all banged up on the inside. Then I get back home in Texas and I DON'T HAVE MY AP SCORES WHEN EVERYONE ELSE DOES.

And that's all I have to say about that.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: 20 hour road trip. Need I say more?  
  
**Building Bridges**  
  
The two raced to the house they had stood in front of a mere hour and a half before they ran in to Mush and Kid Blink. As both of them fought to catch their breath, William broke the silence.  
  
"Are you actually going to do it this time, Ray?" Rayanne nodded slowly. "I have to. Especially after all of that." She motioned in the general direction from which they had come.  
  
She walked to the front door and calmly raised her fist. She held it there for a minute and took a deep breathe before knocking and taking a few steps back to place more distance between herself and the door causing her to softly bump into William who had made his way behind her. He grabbed her shoulders and smiled at her when she looked up at him squeezing her shoulders reassuringly.  
  
The door opened to reveal an old man dressed in a plain black suit. "Can I help you, miss?" His voice was low and his expressionless face greatly intimidated Rayanne but she knew she had not come this far to be scared off by an old man.  
  
"My name is Rayanne Winters. I received a letter from this address." She held out the letter to him and watched as he slowly opened it and began reading it.  
  
"That women claims to be my mother. I want to know the truth." The man nodded and settled his eyes on William as he folded the letter back up.  
  
"And you are?" William cleared his throat and stepped next to Rayanne so he was by her side. "I am William Hetherrington. I am here to escort Miss Winters. It is not fit for a young woman to travel on her own. I would expect a man such as yourself to be aware of such facts."  
  
The man nodded, opened the door further, and motioned for them to enter. "Please come in. I will notify Miss Peters of your arrival."  
  
The pair stood there gazing about the hallway. The floor was made of black and white marble and the walls were adorned with beautiful works of art and photographs of various landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower. Rayanne made her way about the room intently look at each picture and work. William watched her with great curiosity. He had seen her admire art before, but never this closely.  
  
"Why are you looking at each one so closely?" Rayanne looked at him from where she stood across the room.  
  
"If this woman is who she claims to be I want to make sure she has good taste in art." Her comment made William smile. He continued to watch her as she walked about the room slightly touching the table by the doorway and bending down to view a vase placed on it.  
  
He diverted his gaze to the grand staircase at the far side of the room when he heard footsteps coming down them. He watched as a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties made her way down the stairs elegantly.  
  
When he rested his eyes on her face he was shocked. It was a spitting image of Rayanne and Sparks but with long blonde hair that matched Dutchy's.  
  
"Ray..." He whispered. He could hear her turn around and heard her gasp almost inaudibly. "So it is true?" She questioned a little louder. 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Drill team is raping me. Not really. But I'm too tired to really type much of anything I wrote this on my 20 turned 30 hour road trip so I still apologize if it's funky. Anyway, we have a new drill team director and she is AWESOME. I love her, she actually makes us work and get in shape. Besides that, my reviewers are awesome. I know that if I post a chapter I will get a review notice within 2 or 3 hours. Makes me happy inside. I'm too tired to type but know that I love you all and your stories (I read them, yo!). Anyway, I'm going to make like an egg and beat it (BEAT IT, NO ONE WANTS TO BEAT IT BEAT IT! Man... Michael Jackson used to be the shiz. Back when he was black. And not a woman.) PEACE!

**Building Bridges**

The woman smiled gently. "Yes. You are my Rayanne Emily Winters." She finished her descent down the stairs and hugged her eagerly. She pulled back and raised a hand to cup Rayanne's cheek.  
  
"You are so beautiful. Oh! Where are my manners? I am Janie Peters." She had a slight accent as she spoke but Rayanne was still too shocked to take notice.  
  
"Why did you leave Father? And why did you wait so long before contacting me? Why did Father never tell me you were still alive?" Rayanne was on the brink of tears when Mrs. Peters held her tightly to her own body.  
  
"There are so many things we have to talk about, Darling. Why don't you go upstairs and get settled? I have had a room all set up for you for years. I can't believe you are actually here." She cupped Rayanne's face and kissed her forehead.  
  
"George will take your bags." The old man from before appeared and grabbed her bags and began to carry them up the stairs.  
  
Rayanne nodded her head and turned to motion to William. "What about William? Where will he go?"  
  
Mrs. Peters followed Rayanne's gaze and smiled at William. "The guest room is available if you would like it, young man. I am extremely grateful that you came along. I have heard so much about you from my husband."  
  
Rayanne's head snapped back to face her mothers. "You talk to Father?"  
  
Mrs. Peters nodded but headed to a door at the end of the hallway. It opened to the kitchen which was filled with maids.  
  
"Meet me in the library in two hours. Take some time to rest. Look around, this is your second home now. Feel free to ask George for help if you need any. Your room is upstairs to the left. Second door. I am going to notify the maids that you have arrived. They will all be so excited."  
  
When the door closed behind her William stood before Rayanne. "Are you okay, Ray? That might have been a lot to take in just a few minutes."  
  
Rayanne nodded numbly and made her way up the stairs. "I will see you in a few hours, William. I need some time to gather my thoughts."  
  
She found her room easily and slowly opened the door. Her room was lavender and pale yellow with a large bed with countless pillows. A small bench, decorated with more pillows, was located in front of her window. She looked out the window and smiled when she noted the fire escape to the right. It was close enough to her window to climb up onto the roof.   
  
She walked to her bed and sat down to take in everything she had just been told and view her room at the same time.  
  
_'This is going to be a long day.'_


	7. AN

I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long. Life is kind of crazy. I had to decorate my senior overalls (tradition) in TWO WEEKS and it's been like 5 and I am still adding small touches here and there after school and now I am Vice president of a club and the president does nothing so I have everything on my shoulders for that. On top of that drill team is crazy and we have tons of things to do and the football games on friday nights stink. Example, yesterday we lost 70 to 21 to Southlake Carroll. But they are also number one in state and somewhere in the top in the nation so you know... It was expected. Word on my computer has also gone crazy and is asking me to type in my Prudct Key which I can not find. So I have not been able to write any new chapters.

Thank you so much to my reviewers! I plan to write next weekend and hopefully finish the story so that way I can just focus on updating once a week or so. Hopefully I haven't been attacked by an angry mob of newsies yet!

Very Apologetic Tasha


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: I'm sooooooooo sorry it has taken me so long to update. But I am back and back with a vengeance! This chapter was REALLY long so I cut it into two chapters to make it shorter and more thrilling. This does kind of end with a cliffhanger but I am hoping to suck all you guys back into my imaginary newsie world with this one. Let me know what you think! Once again, SO SORRY!

Building Bridges: Chapter Seven

An hour later William watched as Rayanne emerged in a new dress and appearing much more like herself. He quickly stood up and approached her.

"Ray?" It was meant to catch her attention but came out as a question in the end, she turned to him with a slightly raised eyebrow to indicate that she had heard him.

"Are you sure you are ready for this? It's has only been one day. We are here for two weeks." He watched her closely as she started wringing her hands together and shuffling her feet.

"I want to know William. I _need _to know." She looked up at him earnestly and stopped all movement. "I have been waiting for this my entire life."

William sighed but smiled brightly inwardly knowing that she was accomplishing one of her life goals; discovering who her family was and what happened to them. "Well, the library is downstairs. Good luck, Rooftop."

Rayanne smiled at her new nickname and reached up to give William the best hug she had ever given in her life, which he gladly accepted and returned to her full heartedly. When they pulled apart William grinned at her before turning around and walking to the guest room. Satisfied, Rayanne continued on her way, turned around the corner and slowly descended the grand staircase before her.

Her footsteps echoed throughout the entry way as she marched to the French doors that led to the library. She placed her hand on top of the door handle and paused. Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing herself she slowly turned the handle to reveal Mrs. Peters sitting on a couch with a book filled with pictures in her lap. She already had tissues in her hand and could be heard sniffing quietly.

"Mrs-"Rayanne stopped herself before finishing her original thought and smiled. "Mother?" Mrs. Peters inhaled sharply at the word and turned to face her daughter. Tear streaks had etched their way into her features but she smiled through her tears.

"Come here, my Dear." She patted the area next to her and scooted over a bit to make more room for her. Rayanne tip-toed to the couch and sat down as she was told. Mrs. Peters placed the photo album halfway on Rayanne's lap and halfway on her own and leafed through to a page with only one picture.

The picture was quite old and torn a bit at the edges. It was a photograph of a family, _her _family. She recognized her father and mother but couldn't place the children. There were four. A young boy, who must have been no older than four, stood beside his mother and in front of his father, a wide smile adorning his face. On the mother's other side stood another boy, this one appearing to be maybe six or seven, who was grinning at the camera as well. Everyone but the mother smiled warmly at the camera, she was focused on the two little girls she held in her arms. The girls seemed to be the same age and looked very similar except for their hair color, one being blonde and the other being a brunette.

Rayanne traced her fingertips across the faces as tears began to burn her eyes. She paused her fingers on one of the two girls and looked up at her mother who was watching her lovingly.

"Is that..." She didn't need to finish the question for her mother to know what she was asking. Mrs. Peters placed her hand on top of Rayanne's and smiled. She grabbed Ray's finger and looked down at the picture slowly moving her finger to point at the older of the two boys.

"That is your brother, Charles." She paused and continued moving Ray's finger until it landed on the other young boy. "Your other brother, Alexander," Her finger moved to the blonde baby girl, "Your twin sister, Cassandra," then finally to the brunette, "And you."

Rayanne felt her breath catch in her throat and she quickly jerked her head up to look at her mother. "Wha.... What... What happened to them?" It was her mother's turn to sigh.

"I am not proud of this story. But I am going to tell you even though you will not be pleased with me after this."


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: Hooray for reviews! For a while there I was panicking that I had lost some of my reviewers. So this is where you find out what happened to the happy little family! I don't think you guys noticed but in the last chapter I switched Rayanne and her twins' hair colors but I fixed it now so it's all good. This chapter is a lot of talking so I decided not to write as many descriptive episodes as I have before. I tried to leave some in there but it's hard when you want to get a story across. And it's a pretty long chapter too. Anyway, ENJOY!

Building Bridges: Chapter Eight

Mrs. Peters sat there for a while, a look of concentration evident on her face, as she traced her fingers over the picture absent mindedly. Finally she composed herself and spoke softly but steadily.

"When you were born, your father and I weren't doing very well. Financially we had everything we need but Joseph and I... We had our problems. Divorce was not an option and to this day is not a possibility to either of us. Because of his problems with me, your father focused more on the boys than on you two beautiful girls." She frowned but proceeded, "It angered me more than you can imagine. I felt like he was preparing the boys to take them away from me and leave me alone to care for you."

She cast her eyes onto the floor and shifted uncomfortably under Rayanne's gaze. "You were always very ill when you were younger, and the doctors didn't know what to do, let alone your father and I. One night when you must have been about 2 years old, I was tired, frustrated, angry, and I confronted him."

Rayanne interrupted, "Father?"

Mrs. Peters locked her eyes with Rayanne for a moment as she nodded her head before returning her gaze to the carpet which had seemed to be the most interesting thing she had seen in years. "The many fights we already had mounted and just erupted into one big outburst. We both said things we didn't mean and were too caught up in our rage..." She sighed again and closed her eyes.

"We didn't even notice the boys were outside listening to every word we said." She opened her eyes and allowed a tear to roll down her cheek and she looked up at Rayanne.

"The next morning I went into the boys' room but their beds were empty. I found a note from Charles and Alexander on the kitchen table." She turned to the last page in the photo album. There was a small, worn, and yellowed envelope. Rayanne watched as her mother pulled out the envelope and held it close to her chest. Slowly, she pulled the letter out of the envelope as she continued telling her story.

"Charles and Alexander felt it was their fault that everything was going wrong so they took off. Charles had woken Alexander up in the middle of the night, packed a few of their things, and taken Cassandra. They left you because you were ill. They figured that if there was only one child for us to care for, we wouldn't fight and you would have a greater chance of survival since we wouldn't have to pay for food for six people."

Tears flowed from Rayanne's eyes but she felt too numb to take notice of it. She slowly reached for the envelope her mother was holding. When she grabbed it she set it down in the album and shut it. She then grabber her mother's hands and held them in her own.

"Do you know where they are now? All of them?" Her voice was shaky but both of them didn't take the time to notice.

"I heard that Charles sent your father a letter but I haven't heard anything about Alexander or Cassandra. Charles said that he took them to Manhattan and they found a place to stay there. Charles left and moved to Santa Fe, he always loved cowboys since he spent so much time with that Jack Kelly boy. He left Alexander and Cassandra behind because they didn't want to leave and they felt at home in Manhattan. He didn't have the heard to force them to move twice."

Rayanne inhaled deeply "What about you and father?"

She watched as her mother slowly lowered her eyes to where their hands lay on Rayanne's knees. "I moved here because I found a job here through an old family friend and I wanted to try and find your siblings. Your father refused to leave. I left you there because that is where your doctors were. We kept in touch over the years and he even sent me pictures of you every few years."

She pulled her head back up to meet Rayanne's gaze and spoke slowly. "It is better this way, my dear. We do not fight but still care for each other deeply. I am so glad he chose to give you my letter. I was afraid you would not come. I hope you are not angry with me."

Rayanne embraced her mother tightly and thought back to the events of the day when suddenly she remembered the newsies. She pulled back but placed her hands on her mother's shoulders.

"I have something to take care of. But I will be back before dark. Will you tell William for me?" Her mother looked confused but nodded and wiped the tears from Rayanne's face.

"Why don't you take Mr. Hetherrington with you? The streets can be dangerous here in Manhattan."

Rayanne considered this for a moment but finally nodded her agreement. She quickly kissed her mother's cheek, hugger her briefly, stood up, and quickly walked to the door. She turned to face her mother before exiting the room. "I love you, Mother. I could never hate you."


	10. Chapter 9

Building Bridges: Chapter Nine

Rayanne ran up the stairs and into her bedroom where she quickly fixed her make up and hair. She sped across the hallway and started banging on William's door.

"Will! I have to go! Let's go! Hurry!" She heard him grumble inside and smiled when the door opened and an extremely disoriented William appeared before her eyes.

"What is possibly so important that you had to wake me up from my nap?" Rayanne stood up on her toes and ruffled William's hair.

"I found out some information that we need to take care of this instant. Let's go we don't have much time. I want to catch the guys in the restaurant!" William looked confused but mumbled something barely audible before turning to go and freshen up a little to go out on this emergency trip.

He finally walked into the hallway and shut his door then turned around to stand face to face with Rayanne. "Ready?" She nodded enthusiastically, grabbed his hand and led them down the stairs, out the door, and onto the street of Manhattan.

They reached Tibby's and Rayanne was immediately relieved to see that the boys where still in the restaurant. She opened the door and smiled when all the faces turned to look at who had entered the restaurant. She waved in response to the chorus of greetings she received and smiled even wider when she saw Dutchy and Jack move towards her with grins on their faces.

"Hey guys!" Jack placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled William up beside him. "If it ain't Rooftop and Will. Wha' are you doin' 'ere so soon? Miss me dat much?"

Rayanne gently punched him. "You wish, Cowboy. I need to talk to you, Dutchy and Sparks. Is there any place we can go and talk without any of the others hearing?"

Jack thought about it and nodded as he started looking around for Sparks. When he found her he called her over. "Go to da lodgin' 'ouse. Nobody is goin' in dere fo' a few mo' 'ours."

"Thank you, Jack. William," She looked him and grabbed his arm, "You're coming too."

Jack let go of Rayanne and moved so he stood at the center of the restaurant. "Ey fellas! Me an' some o' the othas are goin' to da lodgin' 'ouse! Stay out!"

Satisfied with the mumbled responses from the others Jack walked toward the group and led the way to the lodging house.

When they walked in Rayanne was surprised to find it much cleaner and organized than she thought it would be. Jack introduced her to Kloppman before heading up the stairs to the bunk room.

William and Rayanne sat on one bunk across from Dutchy and Sparks. Jack pulled up a chair to sit in the middle. The room was silent as everyone waited for someone to say something. Anything to end the nervous silence.

Rayanne cleared her throat and received a glare from Sparks. Remembering the earlier slap Dutchy had received she raised her hands and apologized.

"Well. There is really no slow and easy way to say this so I am just going to lay it on the table." She could clearly tell that the others were confused, including William. She raised her gaze to be able to look at the three newsies across from her. She felt William reach for her hand and squeeze it reassuringly and she smiled warmly at the gesture.

"I think that the two of you," she raised her hand and motioned to Dutchy and Sparks, "are my brother and sister." She stood up and began to pace in front of the bunk.

"I spoke with my mother and she told me that I had two brothers and a twin sister. My brother and sister ran away from home when they were very little and they ended up on the streets of Manhattan." She stopped and looked at Jack.

"And you never told me you knew I had siblings. My mother told me that Charles, my oldest brother, left the other two in Manhattan to go to Santa Fe because of you. She also told me that she moved out here to try and find them. I'm here because she sent me a letter asking me to join her here. That is why I left so urgently after meeting you in the restaurant but now that I know this information I really want to get to know all of you better. And the rest of the boys too."

She sighed deeply and sat back down on the bed as if she had just run a mile. "And I want to introduce you to the person who I think is your mother."

She looked down at her lap where she was wringing her hands and waited to hear their response afraid of looking at their faces.


End file.
